Bill Text: PA HR359 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Honoring Ross Township, Allegheny County, on the celebration of its bicentennial.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2009-06-17 - Adopted [HR359 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HR359-Introduced.html

---

PRINTER'S NO. 2165
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 359 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY WALKO, D. COSTA, MATZIE, TURZAI, VULAKOVICH, BELFANTI, BEYER, BRADFORD, BRENNAN, CALTAGIRONE, COHEN, CONKLIN, CREIGHTON, DALEY, DENLINGER, DiGIROLAMO, DONATUCCI, FLECK, FRANKEL, GEIST, GEORGE, GIBBONS, GINGRICH, GRUCELA, HARKINS, HARPER, HELM, HENNESSEY, HESS, HICKERNELL, KIRKLAND, KORTZ, KOTIK, MAHONEY, MAJOR, MANN, MELIO, MILLARD, MOUL, MURT, MUSTIO, PALLONE, PHILLIPS, ROHRER, ROSS, SANTONI, SCAVELLO, SWANGER, VEREB, WHEATLEY AND YOUNGBLOOD, JUNE 16, 2009
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, JUNE 16, 2009
A RESOLUTION
Honoring Ross Township, Allegheny County, on the celebration of
its bicentennial.
WHEREAS, In the early days of settlement, an Indian trail
stretching through the mountains from what would become
Pittsburgh to Erie was utilized as a thoroughfare of the forest;
and
WHEREAS, Along this trail were lands divided up among
soldiers of the American Revolution, partly in payment for their
service and partly to offset the currency devaluation of the
newly formed Federal Government; and
WHEREAS, Settlement increased along the Venango Trail as the
Indian trail became known, and in 1808, when it became Franklin
Road, settlers bounded off a portion of land and petitioned the
Allegheny County courts to recognize a new township; and
WHEREAS, Recognition of the township came in the court's
November term of 1809, and it was named in honor of James Ross,
the eminent attorney of Pittsburgh who was then at the height of
his career; and
WHEREAS, The Borough of Allegheny was formed in 1828 and took
that part of Ross Township nearest the Allegheny River; and
WHEREAS, In 1847, the formation of Shaler Township took away
about two miles from the eastern side of Ross Township; and
WHEREAS, Ross Township remains much like it was in 1828, with
the exception of the formation of the Borough of West View in
1905; and
WHEREAS, Many notable hotels and inns along Franklin Road
accommodated travelers and herdsman from Pittsburgh to Erie, and
the road's use to carry supplies to Commodore Perry for Perry's
1813 battle on Lake Erie contributed to the naming of
Perrysville and the Perry Highway; and
WHEREAS, As road improvements became necessary for the
riders, stagecoaches and wagons traveling the road, tolls and
tollgates dotted the highway, with the average toll being five
cents; and
WHEREAS, The electric railway was introduced around the end
of the 19th century, but its demise in 1931 from "an overdose of
gasoline," as reported in the Pittsburgh Press, was caused by
the increased use of the automobile; and
WHEREAS, On January 1, 1922, Ross Township became a first
class township, the voters having elected to assume that status
at the fall election of 1921, and a one-man police force and a
bucket brigade of firefighters protected its citizens; therefore
be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor Ross
20090HR0359PN2165 - 2 -
Township, Allegheny County, on the celebration of its
bicentennial.
20090HR0359PN2165 - 3 -